Sheep in the Rain

Many of this years young lambs have had little exposure to heavy rain and today came as a bit of a surprise. This one was looking very stoic.

All the sheep seemed to freeze, as if in a trance, and all were pointing the same way. I suspect they had their backs to the wind and the worst of the rain.

Chicken of the Woods - forager's hors d'oeuvre

There are three oaks near the house that host a bracket fungus called Chicken of the Woods. They fruit every other year in June and are unmistakeable, bright orange beacons.

They grow very large, possibly weighing up to a kilo? But if you leave them too long, they dry out and become too tough to eat.

This particular one is on the farmer's land so I asked permission to help myself to some.

I propped my ladder against the trunk, climbed up and snapped off the lowest bracket. Back in the kitchen I sliced it into strips and fried in butter for 10 to 15 minutes with pepper and a smidgeon of salt. Then a squeeze of lemon.

It was delicious and the texture a bit like chicken breast. An excellent forager's hors d'oeuvre. It's the sort of luxury you'd be prepared to pay an arm and a leg for at Harrod's Food Hall!

Redstart nest

I heard the alarm call of anxious birds and there was Molly, staring at the stone wall below, where hungry young redstarts were waiting for lunch. The nest is several inches inside the wall.

Badgers at Campbell's

Recent guests Karen and Dick spent a fortnight at Campbell's. They love their wildlife and appreciated the abundance of Redstarts and Warblers plus the constant cuckoo of the Cuckoo(s).

Some nights the cottage lawn was ablaze with white light to attract moths. And on many nights they placed a trail camera by the badger sett. These are some of their photos.

Goat Butts

The young billy has been flirting with the chief billy’s mate, and she’s probably his mother. The chief billy is none too pleased and the head banging is headache ferocious. After he’s seen off the young pretender, he goes to his mate, stamps his foot and she snuggles up to him.

Molly Ball

Welsh volley ball secret training camp in Snowdonia.

Gardener's World!

Talent scouts must have been admiring our gardening efforts? Why else would we be appearing on Gardener's World?

We were just visiting Bodnant, talking to one of the volunteers, when the cameraman copped us. Viewers from Kent and Buckinghamshire were quick to say they'd seen us.

Sky's the Limit?

Safety guidelines say to fly below 400 feet but in this part of Wales the RAF flies down to 250 feet and even less for helicopters. So I'm not being too adventurous. Here's the bird's eye view take 1.

Goats being goats

The goats have been enjoying the fine summer weather and are spending time on the bank below the railway; a good place to munch some oak tree leaves. This is the view from the bathroom window: